best mlb team name (1891 to present)

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based on baseball almanac there have been 59 team names associated with the current roster of active mlb organizations. since we can only do 50 options i've instituted a few rules to get down to 50:

-1891 cutoff date (sorry fans of the gothams, alleghenys, brown stockings, red caps, red stockings, trolley dodgers, white stockings... if you want to vote for one of these vote for their current team and let us know in the comments)
-rays/devil rays have been combined into one entry (but note that reds/redlegs were not)
-indians have been left off, obviously, but you can vote for the guards

feel free to take into account the associated aesthetic and branding, which can be challenging for the 1890s/early 1900s teams. rank a top 5 or 10 or all 59 if you want. the important thing is to have fun. let's play ball!

Poll Results

OptionVotes
beaneaters (boston) 3
orphans (chicago) 2
giants (san francisco, new york) 1
bridegrooms (brooklyn) 1
expos (montreal) 1
bees (boston) 1
brewers (milwaukee) 1
pilots (seattle) 0
pirates (pittsburgh) 0
rangers (texas) 0
yankees (new york) 0
phillies (philadelphia) 0
perfectos (st louis) 0
padres (san diego) 0
orioles (baltimore) 0
red sox (boston) 0
redlegs (cincinnati) 0
white sox (chicago) 0
twins (minnesota) 0
tigers (detroit) 0
superbas (brooklyn) 0
senators (washington) 0
rustlers (boston) 0
royals (kansas city) 0
rockies (colorado) 0
robins (brooklyn) 0
reds (cincinnati) 0
nationals (washington) 0
naps (cleveland) 0
colt .45s (houston) 0
cardinals (st louis) 0
browns (st louis) 0
braves (atlanta, milwaukee, boston) 0
blues (cleveland) 0
blue jays (toronto) 0
athletics (sacramento, oakland, kansas city, philadelphia) 0
astros (houston) 0
angels (los angeles, anaheim, california) 0
colts (chicago) 0
cubs (chicago) 0
mets (new york) 0
marlins (miami, florida) 0
mariners (seattle) 0
highlanders (new york) 0
guardians (cleveland) 0
doves (boston) 0
dodgers (los angeles, brooklyn) 0
diamondbacks (arizona) 0
devil rays / rays (tampa bay) 0
americans (boston) 0


, Friday, 18 April 2025 15:55 (six months ago)

oh i forgot to mention obviously some team names have been shared by what are now different organizations (debatably in some cases like orioles/orioles and yankees/orioles) so where that's been the case the team name still only get one entry

, Friday, 18 April 2025 15:57 (six months ago)

Was just about to vote Superbas but switched to Beaneaters at the last second

octobeard, Friday, 18 April 2025 16:04 (six months ago)

Expos was good, even though they launched two years after the Expo in question; I like the tie-in between the Astro and the then booming space program, too. I don't have strong feelings on the issue...I do remember rooting hard for the Toronto Towers at the time--the CN Tower had just been built--and being a little puzzled by Blue Jays. I've probably just gotten used to it, but it now seems like the better choice.

clemenza, Friday, 18 April 2025 16:07 (six months ago)

voted naps because currently craving one

imperial frfr (Steve Shasta), Friday, 18 April 2025 17:38 (six months ago)

orioles, because it taught me about a type of bird i probably wouldn't know about otherwise (i don't live in the mid-atlantic)

gestures broadly at...everything (voodoo chili), Friday, 18 April 2025 17:54 (six months ago)

Astros cos of fit and their triple A affiliate being the Space Cowboys. Love Cardinals too.

triste et cassé (gyac), Friday, 18 April 2025 18:45 (six months ago)

I really like the origin of the Dodgers name, might go with that one. Though I do like the Expos, Superbas, Astros, and obviously the Naps.

omar little, Friday, 18 April 2025 21:45 (six months ago)

here's the story of how the mets got their name, from devin gordon's so many ways to lose:

https://i.postimg.cc/Y2RGhV6J/Screenshot-2025-04-21-at-12-36-44-PM.png

https://i.postimg.cc/zXfLWjp3/Screenshot-2025-04-21-at-12-36-49-PM.png

, Monday, 21 April 2025 16:38 (six months ago)

the (non-certificated) website team name origins says these were the finalists for the mets name:

New York fans got the chance to vote for their favorite nickname out of ten finalists which were Avengers, Bees, Burros, Continentals, Jets, NYBS, Rebels, Skyliners, Skyscrapers, and the winner - Mets.

, Monday, 21 April 2025 16:40 (six months ago)

anyway i started this poll because i think most team names chosen in the modern era are pretty bad since they're mostly chosen based on ideas of aggression, danger, dominance. i think it's pretty cringe there's a professional sports team called the predators. i like baseball team names because they're from an era when you'd name a team after the color of their socks or a cool bird or a bunch of traveling acrobats. you see that in other leagues too but i feel like baseball has a higher proportion given its long history.

i might vote the brewers because it's just nice to think about a bunch of guys getting together to play baseball after brewing some beer

, Monday, 21 April 2025 16:49 (six months ago)

Bridegrooms is very evocative

Crack's Addition (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 21 April 2025 17:10 (six months ago)

that's the most Mets possible outcome for how they got their name.

Western® with Bacon Flavor, Monday, 21 April 2025 17:14 (six months ago)

voted orphans

I think we're all Bezos on this bus (WmC), Monday, 21 April 2025 17:42 (six months ago)

two months pass...

i'm a big fan of the tradition to raise the jolly roger. it's very cute!

, Wednesday, 2 July 2025 15:28 (four months ago)

Voted Expos; they and their logo are still popular, and their name is part of that, I think. (I'm quite sure most everyone knows all this already, but if you're not Canadian and don't: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_67.)

clemenza, Wednesday, 2 July 2025 17:38 (four months ago)

two months pass...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Sunday, 28 September 2025 00:01 (one month ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Monday, 29 September 2025 00:01 (one month ago)

i think i forgot to vote

, Monday, 29 September 2025 00:08 (one month ago)


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